Out of the 300,000 that were called up as part of partial mobilization, 87,000 were sent to the front lines in Ukraine, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said, according to Interfax.
According to British Intelligence, Russia has sent thousands of reservists to the front lines since mid-October and in some cases, they are poorly equipped. In mid-September, Russian officers were concerned that some of the mobilized reservists that were arriving, were coming with no weapons.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke about the reservists that are being sent in a conference call, according to Interfax. "As for the autumn draft campaign. Today, more than 2,700 draft commissions have begun work in 85 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. In total, 120,000 people are subject to conscription for military service for 12 months."
What was the decree and what were the reactions?
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on a partial mobilization that would send 300,000 additional reservists to serve in Russia's military on the front lines in Ukraine.
"In accordance with the presidential decree of September 21, 300,000 people were called up during the partial mobilization," Shoigu said, according to Russian media.
In a pre-recorded television broadcast, Putin said that the first reservists to be called are those who have had previous training and experience, according to Reuters.
Putin said that a partial mobilization of the two million military reservists that Russia has was "fully adequate to the threats we face, namely to protect our homeland, its sovereignty and territorial integrity, to ensure the security of our people and people in the liberated territories."
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters that Russia's mobilization was predictable and that it proves that the war is not going according to their plan.
The US ambassador in Ukraine, Bridget Brink, wrote on Twitter in September saying that the mobilization ordered by Putin is a sign of weakness. "Sham referenda and mobilization are signs of weakness, of Russian failure. The United States will never recognize Russia's claim to purportedly annexed Ukrainian territory and we will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes."